20 Questions & A Song Request with Jack Hanley: Mamie Van Doren
As Emerson aptly noted, “…a man may be known by the books he reads”; at Kinophilia, we hold that we are best known, perhaps, by the films we hold most dear. The format is simple: one cinephile, twenty questions, and a song of their choice. In this installment, Jack sits down with legendary screen actress and eternal pop icon Mamie Van Doren to talk celluloid feminism, replicants, and the genius of Bjork. Republished via an earlier interview from 2012.
- Mamie it is lovely to talk with you. OK- the last film you saw- in which city- and with whom?
The Artist. With my husband. It sucked.
2. The primary difference between today’s cinema and “the Golden Age”?
I admit to not being very interested in today’s movies- and it is not the Gloria Swanson “Sunset Boulevard attitude” of “they just don’t make ’em like they did in my day” — honest! I just don’t see many films around that strike a chord for me. Those who decry the lack of glamor (as it was known in films in years past) really miss the point of movies. Movies reflect what the audience wants to see, and today people are less interested in the glamor of, say, Dinner at Eight, than they are in reflections of their own lives.
Glamor in movies came out of the Great Depression when large numbers of people were out of jobs, had little money, and often didn’t know where their next meal was coming from. To escape the unrelenting dreariness of those times, people went to movies to be taken into a world where elegance was the norm, champagne flowed, and no one got their hands dirty. Our world now is very different. Even with difficult economic times, affluence is pretty widespread and audiences are interested in reality — or at least some VERSION of reality. With the advent of YouTube and Vimeo and Facebook, people’s sensibilities have evolved about what they want to see. Today’s films reflect that evolution of interest. Maybe it will change again, maybe it won’t.
3. What was the first film you ever recall seeing in a theater?
The first film I ever saw was when my parents took me to see a Shirley Temple movie. Something about animal crackers in my soup?
4. You are finally getting your due recognition as a feminist trailblazer in regards to your fearless portrayal of sexually empowered (and often sexually aggressive) women- unafraid to embrace and enjoy the power of their sensuality. Who do you feel is the best standard-bearer of this today?
I never really thought of my characters as “fearless” or “empowered.” I just did what I thought was the natural thing to do. There are so many women portraying ass-kicking, sexual characters today — Scarlet Johanssen in the Avengers, Kate Beckinsale in the Underworld movies are a couple that come to mind. They are very good at that sort of cartoonish, “don’t-fuck-with-me” attitude. But portrayals of women who are empowered sexually and dealing with the world day-to-day like grownups (without martial arts and high-tech weapons) are few and far between.
5. Three directors whose films have changed your life- either by craft or appreciation.
I’ll see your three directors and raise you one: George Seaton, who directed me in Teacher’s Pet. Albert Zugsmith. Ridley Scott. Clint Eastwood. (Mamie’s husband is shouting from the other room, “Tell ’em Sam Peckinpah!”)
6. Name a film (which you champion) that it seems only you know about.
Le Rouge et le Noir (The Red and the Black), starring Gerard Phillipe — perhaps the sexiest man I’ve ever seen on screen.
7. Name a role (which you didn’t get) that you were born for.
Dorothy Malone’s role in Written on the Wind. She received an Oscar.
8. What would today’s Mamie Van Doren confide to yesterday’s Joan Olander (Mamie’s birth name)?
Whatever you do, DON’T GROW UP!
9. You once cited Jean Harlow as your original inspiration- what is your favorite Harlow performance?
In Dinner at Eight with Wallace Beery. She is lying in bed coaxing Wallace to take her to a society dinner. Priceless.
10. Your biopic- who ideally plays you?
Once upon a time I wrote a semi-autobiographical script about my adventures (and misadventures) in Vietnam. My agent and I spent a lot of time sending it to actresses around town who might be interested in playing me. You wouldn’t believe some of the gals I sent it to. A few were interested in being attached to it, but it never got sold. However, I came away with a new appreciation of what it’s like trying to find someone to play you. Not easy. Just in terms of looks and attitude, Lindsay Lohan might be good, if she can keep herself together.
11. Who do you feel is the most under-appreciated of your acting/directing contemporaries?
Albert Zugsmith. Zuggy directed and/or produced many of my films which have become cult classics. He was one of the early independent producers in Hollywood, and he brought a zest and a wacky imagination to his projects. Zuggy loved topical- and sensational- subjects in the news like the 1950s Red Scare, Communism, marijuana, juvenile delinquents, and beatniks were all things he loved to inject into his movies.
12. Which of your performances are you MOST proud of?
I’m really proud of them all. They’re like children — some turned out great, some good, some just okay — but I am fond of them all.
13. The one “staggeringly brilliant film of contemporary cultural genius” that you will admit to NOT having yet seen.
Midnight in Paris.
14. The iconic film scene that still haunts you to this day.
Pass
15. The “Meh Confession”- A critically and culturally acclaimed film that you were supposed to like- but didn’t.
The Artist. It was a one joke movie. Once you got past the novelty of it being SILENT, the movie was not very well acted. Without the dog to carry the story, people would’ve walked out.
16. Which actor or actress ALWAYS moves you to smile in the dark?
Carole Lombard — funny and beautiful.
17. What was your immediate reaction to your homage in Pulp Fiction?
I was sitting in a theater with my husband and I laughed out loud.
18. Your “anytime, anywhere, stop-what-I-am-doing and watch” film.
Anything with Harlow. Always Blade Runner. Always Duel in the Sun with Gregory Peck and Jennifer Jones. And Blind Date with Kim Bassinger and Bruce Willis, directed by Blake Edwards. That movie always makes me laugh. The first time I saw it, I laughed until I got the hiccups.
19. Speaking of BLADE RUNNER, as you frequently cite it among your favorite films — The Replicant Ambiguity Conundrum: in YOUR vision, is Deckard human or replicant?
I never got that Deckard was a replicant when I saw the film. (I have not seen the newer director’s cut, which I am told makes it quite obvious.) I saw him as a man dehumanized by his work of killing replicants. I always loved the film’s noir vibe and quiet, dark flow. Even the violence seems quiet — especially by today’s standards. And I always loved the last line in the movie, “No termination date. I didn’t know how long we had together… Who does?”
20. To accompany your last meal- you may select a “last film”. What piece of cinema would you choose for your final moments?
Pass!
Mamie- it’s been an absolute pleasure. Your Song Request?
“Human Behavior” by Bjork. Especially the Underworld Mix.
In addition to authoring best-selling books and maintaining her fiercely irreverent Twitter account (@Mamievandoren), Mamie can also be found dominating a plethora of brilliant political takes at her blog, “Inside/Out: The Dangerous Blog of Mamie Van Doren.” Look for her book, “Playing the Field: Sex, Stardom, Love, and Life in Hollywood” at Amazon.com or a bookstore near you.
Kinophilia is the official site of Boulder-based cinephile Jack Hanley- critic, programmer, and one-half of Blindspotting: A Film Discovery Podcast and FLICKER with Jack and Scott. Find him at HanleyOnFilm.com
